I have had my balloon molly for over a year and she has been very active until about December after she had some babies. She had a lump on her side and was swimming at the top. I did 50% water change and put some salt and epsom salt and it went away. The lunp has come back and turned into some white thing and same swimming at the top. What is it? I was hoping it would go away. The nitrates usually stay under 40 with 2x50% water changes every week. I haven't checked them tho recently with new explosion of fry last few months. What should I do other than water changes and salt? Or skip salt? The tank is overstocked with lots of mollies, but waiting to rehome them because I wanted to see them get big.
Balloon molly sick
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I can't really tell by the picture. Some things I would do:
Frequent water changes (50% 2-3 times a week). If you do this, you need to try and match the TDS and temperature of the old and new water so as not to stress your Molly.
Molly's are brackish fish, so I would definitely keep using the salt.
You could dose some extra prime to help with the slime coat.
Make sure you have excellent nutrition.
Make sure no other fish are chasing her around. Stress is to be avoided if at all possible.
Someone else may be able to help with a more accurate idea on what the underlying disease process is.
Good luck!
Ben
Frequent water changes (50% 2-3 times a week). If you do this, you need to try and match the TDS and temperature of the old and new water so as not to stress your Molly.
Molly's are brackish fish, so I would definitely keep using the salt.
You could dose some extra prime to help with the slime coat.
Make sure you have excellent nutrition.
Make sure no other fish are chasing her around. Stress is to be avoided if at all possible.
Someone else may be able to help with a more accurate idea on what the underlying disease process is.
Good luck!
Ben
Thanks for the reply. I do my best to feed a varied diet, and the brackish point. I wanted to set up a brackish tank for my mollies after I got them, but the internet people said that wasn't necessary because they were raised in fresh and convinced me otherwise. Really considering setting one up.
If anyone sees this and recognized what is wrong with my molly please tell me.
Bump: Just checked on her and she is looking at me pitifully and swimming vertically. The white lump seems to be an open wound looking type. Pic coming.
I think they are ok, though I wonder if I didn't throw off the cycle on accident temporarily after water change- it was larger. The other fish were all fine, even my fattest balloon molly who always looks out of breath was swimming normal. I added some salt and sick molly started dancing in the salt water, maybe thinking it was food but looking better nonetheless. She might be in her last days here. I can't get a picture but her skin is definitely opened where the lump is.
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You will need some kind of general tonic medication.
Most use methylene blue as main ingredient, don't use that in your tank. It stains and kills some plants.
I know tetra makes a fungus medicine with colloidal silver as the main ingredient.
Silver kills germs like nobody's business.
Most use methylene blue as main ingredient, don't use that in your tank. It stains and kills some plants.
I know tetra makes a fungus medicine with colloidal silver as the main ingredient.
Silver kills germs like nobody's business.
Is this one fish the only one showing symptoms of any disease?
Looks like an ulcer to me. Does it look popped though? Can you see exposed/raw flesh?
Does she have fin rot? Or any fungus around the mouth? Kind of hard to tell from the pic quality.
Does your surface agitation happen to be poor/not much? Water circulation poor throughout the tank?
I know you do water changes enough, but do you vacuum debris out of the tank as well?
Healthy water parameters are definitely needed to have the fish's immune system to be in good shape.
Check ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. Also pH, KH, GH, temperature as well, just to make sure those are fine.
Looks like an ulcer to me. Does it look popped though? Can you see exposed/raw flesh?
Does she have fin rot? Or any fungus around the mouth? Kind of hard to tell from the pic quality.
Does your surface agitation happen to be poor/not much? Water circulation poor throughout the tank?
I know you do water changes enough, but do you vacuum debris out of the tank as well?
Healthy water parameters are definitely needed to have the fish's immune system to be in good shape.
Check ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. Also pH, KH, GH, temperature as well, just to make sure those are fine.
Mollies are hard water fish. Salt is optional, but the GH, KH and pH ought to be significantly higher than that of most Tetras and similar fish. You could isolate this one in a hospital tank and add salt.
Balloon shaped fish have distorted spines and internal organs do not have enough room. They are often closely inbred from just a small gene pool. They are unhealthy and more subject to health problems.
Balloon shaped fish have distorted spines and internal organs do not have enough room. They are often closely inbred from just a small gene pool. They are unhealthy and more subject to health problems.
No fin rot. Everything else seems ok. Her mouth is translucent so that is why it looks weird and she has some gold color by her gills- always like that. I don't have much of a substrate, just a small layer of sand in the corner because my plants were potted but I took some out recently because we are moving soon. 2 filters with pretty high flow. but lots of snails; i get like 20 every week out of the filter. That's the ones I see minus dozens of tiny ones.
Ulcer!! Yes that seems like what it is. It seems better today. I am wondering that even though my water is hard, that there is not enough of something in it because two of my other fish always are getting sick with fin rot or fungus. This balloon molly has never had any problems or have been sick before this happened in December. Thanks for the help. Is it contagious? I will move her if it is. She really loves to be with the other mollies and I don't want to cause unnecessary stress if it is not.
Ulcer!! Yes that seems like what it is. It seems better today. I am wondering that even though my water is hard, that there is not enough of something in it because two of my other fish always are getting sick with fin rot or fungus. This balloon molly has never had any problems or have been sick before this happened in December. Thanks for the help. Is it contagious? I will move her if it is. She really loves to be with the other mollies and I don't want to cause unnecessary stress if it is not.
Yeah I have learned this by seeing my balloon mollies. One of them is so compressed that she has a hard time swimming away from the males and she has never given live birth to any fry- only egg sacks. The balloon mollies that were born in my tank are all female and none of them have ever had any babies. I don't know if they are sterile or what. It is sad. I honestly thought because I work extra hard to keep the water clean and feed them good foods, everything was going to be ok. Not getting anymore , but trying my best here.
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